Technology writer Sebastian Rios makes a provocative argument: AI agents are amplifiers, not problem solvers. They make your workflow faster and cheaper, but never question whether the workflow should exist. Consider a factory that swapped its steam engine for electricity but kept the exact same floor plan. The real transformation came decades later when someone finally asked: if the engine can go anywhere, why does the factory still sit around it? The same problem haunts AI deployments today. You're likely optimizing a 'cow path'—a worn trail that exists for historical reasons, not effectiveness. Agents just make the wrong process faster. The real strategic work is recognizing that your workflows were shaped by outdated constraints, then redesigning your organization around human judgment, not execution.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton